A Word document inadvertently closed or shut down suddenly on your laptop without saving it? This article will explore methods for recovering unsaved Word documents on a Mac. If you prefer not to utilize a file recovery program, the following three options will guide your way to recover Word documents on a Mac without the need for data recovery software.
Tutorials: Recover Unsaved Word Documents on Mac
Microsoft Word app is capable of working with common DOC or DOCX file types that are interoperable with the majority of operating systems. Versions of Word ranging from 2011 to 2022 feature an auto-save function, which allows us to recover an unsaved Word file even before clicking the Save button.
Using AutoRecovery
Word for Mac uses an AutoSave feature that is enabled by default. The function saves a backup copy of your Word document that is currently open every minute on its own. If Word crashes or freezes, resulting in the loss of your document, you can recover an unsaved Word document with any recent changes or additions made.
Steps to restore unsaved Word documents on Mac:
1. Start Finder on your Mac.
2. Click on “Go” in the top Finder menu, then proceed to “Folder”.
3. Enter the following path: ~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery
and press Enter.
4. Open the AutoRecovery folder and look for files starting with “AutoRecovery save of”. Identify the file you wish to restore.
5. Double-click on the file to open it in Word on Mac. Go to the File menu and select “Save As”.
Using Mac Temporary Folder
The special feature of Microsoft Word for Mac allows you to locate the unsaved item in either the AutoRecovery folder or Word’s Temporary files folder, where a copy of the unsaved document is stored as a Word Work File. Your Mac also stores files temporarily in this folder, although many Mac users may have difficulty locating it. Here are steps to find the unsaved Word files using Terminal:
1. Navigate to “Applications > Utilities” and open “Terminal“.
2. Type in open $TMPDIR in Terminal, which will take you to the TMP folder where temporary files are stored.
3. Locate and open the “TemporaryItems” folder within the TMP folder. Select the desired Word files, right-click, and choose “Open with…” Microsoft Word.
4. Save the Word file by selecting “File > Save As” and save it to a different location.
Using Recovered Items Folder
Word for Mac automatically saves documents that have not been saved by the user yet in a folder called “Recovered items” within the Trash. If there are no unsaved Word documents on Mac, this folder will not be visible.
1. Open the Trash by clicking on its icon in the dock.
2. Look for the folder named “Recovered items” and navigate to find your Word file. If you are unable to locate it, try the next solution.
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Unsaved Word Documents Prevention
After experiencing the fear of losing your Word files, you want to avoid this situation in the future. Therefore, it is important to learn how to recover as well as prevent losing Word documents. To prevent the complete loss of your files, you can:
Tip 1: Saving Your Docs Whenever You Create A New One
Files that have not been saved before only exist in the computer’s memory, not on the hard drive. Saving a new Word doc at least once is highly recommended to avoid losing your work.
Tip 2: Adjust AutoSave Settings For Continuously Save Your Progress
Once you have saved your document, the AutoSave function will activate. To adjust how often AutoSave occurs, do the following:
1. Launch Microsoft Word on your Mac.
2. Navigate to “Word > Preferences” and select “Save” under Output and Sharing.
3. Enable all items under Save Options (Recommended) and adjust the AutoSave interval as desired, such as changing it from every 10 minutes to every 5 minutes.
Tutorials: Recover the Previous Version Of A Word File on Macbook
Are you looking to go back to an earlier version of a Word document on your Mac? It’s a simple process. In today’s world of digital documents, most operating systems and document processors come equipped with the ability to save different versions of a file and easily recover from a previous one. There are three methods to consider.
Accessing Version History
Just like Mac Preview has the option to revert to previous versions saved on Mac, Word also offers a similar feature. However, it’s important to note that the Version History feature in Office only works for files saved in OneDrive or SharePoint Online.
For Office 2021 – 2019 – 2016 user:
1. Open the Word document you want to revert to a previous version of.
2. Navigate to the File tab and select Browse Version History.
3. Choose the desired previous version from the list and click Restore.
For Office 365 users:
1. Simply right-click on the document and select “Version history.”
2. Locate the specific version you want, then click on the three-dot icon and select “Restore” to revert to the previous file version.
Use Time Machine
To access previous versions of your Word document on Mac, ensure Time Machine is enabled and follow the steps to recover Word documents as below:
1. Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac and click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar.
2. Navigate to the folder where your Word file is stored, or go to Finder > Documents to locate it.
3. Use the timeline on the side of the screen to view all available versions of the Word document, then press the Space Bar to preview.
4. Select the version you want to restore and click on Restore to retrieve the previous Word document on your Mac.
Manually Finding The Previous File
If you did not create the Word document yourself, requesting the original file from the person who sent it to you will help you recover.
If you are the creator of the Word document, there are likely previous versions available. Check to see if you have emailed or saved any previous versions, or if they are in the Trash Bin. If you find them, recover them and rename the files.
Tutorials: Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac
Sometimes, we may misplace or unintentionally lost Word document and be required to retrieve it. Here are 3 methods we recommend to recover a Word document.
Using Mac Trash
If you accidentally deleted a Word document, the initial step is to check the Trash folder. On Mac, all deleted items are automatically moved to the Trash folder. Below are the instructions for recovering from the Mac Trash.
1. Open the Trash folder.
2. Right-click on the deleted Word file and select “Put Back“.
Using Terminal
You can utilize Terminal to recover erased Word documents without needing to manually access and restore them from the Trash folder. While Terminal does permanently erase files on Mac, it does provide a way for Mac users to retrieve deleted files using the “cd . Trash” command. Follow these steps to recover lost files:
1. Launch Terminal on your Mac.
2. Type “cd . Trash” and hit Enter.
3. Type “mv filename ../” and hit Enter.
For ex, if the file name is “Unsaved word recovery mac” with the .docx extension, the command would be “mv Unsaved\ word\ recovery\ mac.docx ../”.
4. Locate the recovered Word document in the Home folder.
Using Backup Files
Indeed, having the habit of regularly backing up files using online storage services makes it much simpler to recover deleted or lost Word documents. Even though there are many choices for online storage, like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, and Dropbox, the procedure for retrieving Word files from these backups is quite simple and comparable. You have likely saved your Word document in OneDrive or iCloud, so we will focus on using these two Mac data recovery tools to perform online Word document recovery on Mac.
Using OneDrive:
1. Navigate to the OneDrive website and sign in to your Microsoft account.
2. Access the My Files section in the navigation panel to locate the Word documents that you have misplaced or deleted on your Mac.
3. Download and store a copy of the document on your Mac.
(Optional) If you are unable to find the Word document in the My Files folder, check the Recycle Bin, select the deleted Word files, and click on Restore.
Using iCloud:
1. Locate the Word file you wish to retrieve on your Mac and use the Download option to transfer it.
2. If the deleted Word document is not visible, navigate to Settings > Advanced > Restore Files, select the Word document you want to recover, and then choose Restore File to recover lost Word files.
FAQs
How Can I Do The Lost Documents Recovery On A Mac?
If you recover a lost Word document, you can try using data recovery software to retrieve it. There are various ways to recover lost Word documents. You can restore an unsaved document or recover a Word document on a Mac.
Steps To Recover Unsaved Word Documents Mac
If you want to recover unsaved Word document on Mac, you can follow these steps to recover. Word for Mac has a built-in feature to help you restore files on your Mac. You can also use a document recovery tool to restore unsaved words.
Learn How to Recover Deleted Word Documents on Mac
To recover important word files deleted on Mac, you can learn how to recover unsaved word files. Word document recovery on Mac can be done by finding the previous version of a Word document, which may be saved in a hidden folder on your Mac.
Using Microsoft Word to Recover Lost Documents
Microsoft Word for Mac has a built-in feature that can help you recover unsaved Word documents. You can recover lost Word documents that were deleted or lost unintentionally.
Document Recovery Options for Mac Users
For Mac users, there are several document recovery options available. You can use data recovery software or a document recovery tool to restore unsaved Word documents that were saved on Mac.
